Sunda-Sulawesi languages

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Sunda-Sulawesi
Geographic
distribution:
Indonesia and Micronesia
Genetic
classification
:
Austronesian
 Malayo-Polynesian (MP)
  Nuclear MP
   Sunda-Sulawesi
Subdivisions:
17 branches (provisional)


The Sunda-Sulawesi languages (or Inner Hesperonesian or Inner Western Malayo-Polynesian languages) are a branch of the Austronesian family which include the languages of Sulawesi and the Greater Sunda Islands, as well as a few outliers such as Chamorro and Palauan, as outlined in Wouk and Ross (2002).

In this classification the previous clade of Western Malayo-Polynesian (WMP), or Hesperonesian, has been broken up into "inner" (Sunda-Sulawesi) and "outer" (Borneo-Philippines) clades, and Western Malayo-Polynesian is considered merely a geographic term.

[edit] Classification

There are a number of small, closely related clusters of languages in the Sunda-Sulawesi family whose interrelationship remains uncertain.

The twenty languages of northern Sulawesi and islands to the north (the Sangiric languages such as Bantik, Minahasan languages, and Mongondow-Gorontalo languages) are not part of the Sunda-Sulawesi branch of Austronesian (Inner Hesperonesian), but rather part of the Borneo-Philippines branch (Outer Hesperonesian).

(Central and southern Sulawesi)

  • Tomini-Tolitoli languages (8 languages of northern Central Sulawesi province; includes Totoli)
  • Saluan-Banggai languages (4 languages of eastern Central Sulawesi)
  • Kaili-Pamona languages (8 languages of central Central Sulawesi)
  • South Sulawesi (9 languages of South Sulawesi; includes Buginese, Makassarese, and the former isolate Mbaloh)
  • Bungku-Tolaki languages (4 languages of South East Sulawesi)
  • Wotu-Wolio languages (3 languages)
  • Muna-Buton (6 languages offshore from South East Sulawesi, such as Tukang Besi)

(Greater Sunda Islands, listed from west to east)

(Pacific islands)

[edit] References

  • Fay Wouk and Malcolm Ross (ed.), The history and typology of western Austronesian voice systems. Australian National University, 2002.